Installing Windows 7 RC straight from the ISO

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Earlier this week we mentioned that Windows 7 RC (release candidate) would be made available for the general public. Well, Microsoft has come through and it is now available and you can download it from Microsoft.com.

We previously put Windows 7 to the test on a variety of machines including running it on an HP Mini 1000, a Dell Pentium M, a Lenovo S10 Netbook and the Fujitsu P8010, just to name a few. With more than 2,000 rumored bug fixes being applied to the original Windows 7 release, we jumped at the chance to download and install Windows 7 RC.

Installing Windows 7 without a CD drive or USB stick

According to Microsoft, in order to get the Windows 7 RC up and running you need to burn an ISO file to make an installation DVD. While that approach certainly works, there are many laptops and netbooks that do not have a built-in DVD drive, and therefore are not capable of either burning an ISO file or running an installation DVD. Thankfully, there is another way.

Important note: Before you follow the instructions below you should backup any important files on your machine. In our test we ran the install and it created a directory for our older Windows 7 install, but in case you encounter some strange issues, you should always make a backup.

Step one: download the ISO
The first step is to download the ISO, which you can get at Microsoft.com. My download ended up being more than 2GB, so depending on your connection, it could take a while.

Step two: extract the ISO
Once the ISO is downloaded you need to extract it. I recommend using WinRAR.

Step three: run setup
After you have extracted the ISO you’ll see a bunch of files and folders. The only file you need to be concerned with is setup.

That’s it! As you go through the setup process you need to select a new install, since upgrading isn’t supported in this version.

After you type in the Product Key and click a couple of times, you’ll see your machine reboot. Then just follow the instructions on the screen and in no time you’ll be up and running with Windows 7 RC.

First impressions: Windows 7 RC

So far I’ve noticed a few things:

the hard drive doesn’t spin as often

the experience of navigating the UI is much speedier

wireless connectivity seems to be much more stable. I’ve been connected without interruption for over three hours now. Windows 7 used to randomly disconnect and reconnect from my router

no more popping noise! Previously on the HP Mini 1000 running Windows 7 I would hear a strange popping noise. I figured it was a bug and thankfully it has been fixed in Windows 7 RC

I’ll be putting Windows 7 RC through its paces in the coming weeks, but so far it’s a very solid experience.